"~/.cassandra" folder - what is it used for?

Question

I want to create an automated installation script which includes Cassandra. I had some trouble before which I solved before by deleting "~/.cassandra". Is it safe to delete it automatically every time I run the script?

Answer 1

Is it safe to delete it automatically every time I run the script?

Safe? Sure, but probably not a good idea.

The .cassandra directory holds command history for your cqlsh, cli, and nodetool sessions. It is also the default location for the .cqlshrc file, which (if created) allows you to persist various settings for your cqlsh sessions (username, default keyspace, timestamp format, etc...).

So while I don't think you'll hurt anything by deleting it, I wouldn't do it.

I had some trouble before which I solved before by deleting "~/.cassandra".

There was probably something goofy in your cqlsh history at one point, and deleting the entire folder prevented it from crashing on a parsing error (if I had to guess).

Answer 2

Typically, the .whatever folders and files are "hidden" by convention and are typically used for storing shell history and things like that. Sometimes they can be used to store configuration, but that is on a per-application basis.

The .cassandra folder is not mentioned in the documentation, so I suspect you are safe to delete it as long as you don't mind losing the shell history.

I don't know specifically about Cassandra, but I would suspect it is used for shell history. You could always look into it and see.